Revan Part 2

[colls]

Welcome to our second of four check-in and discussion posts for our Book of the Month.

This month’s book is Revan (Star Wars: The Old Republic #1) by Drew Karpyshyn
Chapters 9-16

Revan

1. What do you make of the tales Darth Nyriss told Lord Scourge about the Emperor?

2. How might taking the title 'Mandalore the Preserver' change the relationship between Revan and Canderous Ordo?

3. Now that the two stories have connected, do you have any predictions on how Revan escapes captivity? Or does he?

4. Any other thoughts?




FYI - There's no need to answer all (or any) of the questions above - they're just talking points to get us started. Informal chatter is more than welcome! In-person book clubs often veer off-topic, it's okay if we do as well. :)
All I ask is that you try to avoid spoilers for things past Part II of the book.

Comments

[colls]

1. Some of her story about his origins are likely true - at least I have no reason to doubt that tale. Her current political machinations are suspect though.

2. I was very surprised in the way that Vella Ordo died. I'm not really a fan of introducing her as Canderous' wife and then killing her a chapter or so later. There was barely any time for readers to connect with her and honestly their reunion felt rather flat.
However, I do wonder if at some point in the future when Canderous sees Revan with his own wife he'll recall Vella and hold a grudge.
Anyway, him taking the 'mask' and claiming leadership was rather anti-climatic to me. Especially since Revan was the only one to have witnessed it. One assumes he made a similar declaration once they left the tomb room.

3. I find it rather funny that Scourge is trying to glean information from Revan who is having such memory problems. On a positive note, I'm glad the author decided to tell and not show the torture sessions. I get the idea and don't need graphic details.

4. Overall I'm enjoying it. The pacing moves right along and I'm curious about how it's all going to be resolved.

[brokenmnemonic]

I can't say I was thrilled with Vella's introduction and death. It didn't feel necessary for her to be Canderous' wife, and if the decision was to make her Canderous' wife simply to generate problems between Canderous and Revan later, then I might cry foul...

[brokenmnemonic]

1. I think that Nyriss' stories about the Emperor are pretty frightening. The idea of a Sith ritual that can wipe out an entire planet's living creatures to yield power to be consumed by one person is Death Star levels of nasty. I also suspect that Nyriss and others would happily do the exact same thing, given access to the rituals. I think this is one area where Nyriss will have told Scourge the truth if there's no good reason not to, but equally, that there's no way she'll give up her real intentions or plans.

2. I think Mandalore the Preserver is a more optimistic title that many other choices, but I think that Canderous becoming Mandalore has to prompt changes in his relationship with Revan. I don't think it would be possible for Canderous to be a good leader for the Mandalorians and at the same time continue to have a close friendship with Revan. I also want to see the fallout from Vella's death, and the impact on the Ordo given that the best warriors in the Clan were the ones on this mission, with the exception of the one guy who got left behind at the camp.

3. I'm wondering if the Emperor will learn of Revan's capture, and demand that Revan be handed over to him. I'm also wondering if perhaps Scourge is going to be involved in unlocking Revan's memories, resulting in Revan going into Dark Jedi mode.

4. The book is moving at a steady pace for me, but I'm a bit nonplussed that the Jedi had the ability to wipe Revan's memory at this point in time. I can only guess that it didn't work, because if it did work, it would surely have been used at various points in the future.